Just to Clear my Name
by Aliecole
Summary: A devastating force sweeps in and reeks havoc in the pokémon world. To make matters worse, pokémon everywhere have lost their abilities and special attacks! As two wanted pokémon desperately try to find standing ground in this chaos, it looks like they'll have to team up with an unlikely ally.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Surrounded by a thick, gray mist, an immensely tall and massively huge, gray tower stretched towards the sky. It was hidden on a secluded island, undiscovered and unknown in existence by humans and non-legendary pokémon. The sacred meeting place of legendaries from ancient times to present ages—The Isle of Legends.

Inside the humongous interior, a large mass of legendaries had a assembled. All of them murmuring worriedly. There should have been more legendaries attending, but the numbers had seriously dwindled. Hardly any of the giant legendary pokémon were there, and everyone had a pretty good guess on why...

Worried voices rang out in a volley of questions. "What are we going to do?!" a concerned Latias asked.

"Maybe, we should try to fight them?" a Celebi suggested.

"We can't beat them! Not even Arceus, himself could defeat them, and now he's under their control!" a Ho-Oh called out while flapping his red wings.

"Well, are we just supposed to sit around and let them take over?!" an Articuno snapped irritatedly.

"What more can we do? Anyone who resists them just ends up on their side, eventually," a Virizion stated in a matter-of-fact way.

"We don't even know their name!" a Uxie put in.

"So you wish to know our name, do you?" an unfamiliar female voice called out. Silence engulfed the room as everyone wildly looked around to see who the voice had come from. "Well," the voice silkily drawled, "then that leaves me no other choice but to tell you."

A dark figure emerged from out of the the shadows. As it stepped into the light, they seen that the voice belonged to a Noivern...and an unusual looking one at that. The purple and black dragon had abnormally long, blue claws curving inward, eyes narrowed into tiny slits, and outer fangs jutting visibly out...even with her mouth closed. Gray fur collared her neck instead of the traditional white. The purple inside of the creature's ears replaced the green color, along with purple undersides of its wings

Low murmurings broke out among the crowd. "Who ARE you?!" a Terrakion aggressively asked. "And how DARE you interrupt a sacred legendary meeting?!"

"Who I am is not important, now," the Noivern carelessly waved the question away. "I have merely come to answer a question." The Noivern fixed her eerie eyes on the Uxie who had spoken earlier. "Ah, the knowledge pokémon! It's only fitting that you would be the one to point out such an important detail. Up until now, none of you have known what our name is, and what better time is there to learn it than now?"

The Noivern glanced around the room in smug satisfaction, a wicked glint entering her eye. Then she spoke slowly, "Who we are is the most horrific of perils. We are the worst of oppressions. We are a petrifying worry, and the most terrible evil. We're more terrifying than your worst nightmare, because unlike dreams, we are real." Then, the black dragon stretched out her wings, and flapped up. Gathering speed, she soared out of an open window and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

A loud frenzy of questions erupted out among the crowd. The volume increased until everything became a undistinguishable, jumbled racket. "STOP!" an Entei roared above the din. "THIS IS GETTING US NOWHERE!" The other legendaries quieted in response. Nodding in satisfaction, the Entei continued, "We all have questions about what has happened, tonight. But right now, we need to focus on the most important ones. Like how did a non-legendary know how to get to a sacred meeting place that only legendaries are supposed to know of...and not all legendaries know of at that?"

"It's possible that one of the controlled legendaries could have told," a Cresselia pointed out.

"Yes," a Cobalion replied. "But how would they know the exact day and time to come here? It was only mentioned at the last meeting, and none of the controlled legends were there."

"A traitor must have told!" squawked a Moltres, flapping its powerful, fiery wings. A nearby Shaymin quickly scuttled away to avoid the heat.

The Entei, who had spoken earlier, nodded. "That leads up to another important question. Who was here at the last meeting, and isn't here for this one?"

"Perhaps this is all the doing of the one we banished," a Suicune responded. "After all, he was here for the last meeting. Maybe he sees this as some sort of revenge in his twisted, little mind."

"Raiken?" a Lugia snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised. You could always tell by looking at that dark Raikou and know he was pure evil."

"That murderous abomination has already betrayed us once! Why should he stop there?" a Keldeo yelled.

"He has disgraced and brought shame upon the title of legendary," a Raikou snarled. "Even the humans hate him! They've been hunting him down for a while, why shouldn't we, also? After all, he has never been properly punished for his old crimes...much less the new one." Voices rang out in agreement.

"Then it's settled," the Entei announced. "We shall hunt him down and show no mercy to this treacherous monster!"

Three forms were settled around a glowing pool of water, the only source of light in the incredibly dark cave. One of the forms seemed magnificently large in comparison to the other two's much tinier frames. "And you're sure this is going to happen, Airidessu?" a voice asked in a dreaded tone.

"Positive," a grim reply answered the question, "and we will be powerless to stop it."

"So...that's it then," another voice spoke in sad defeat. "They win and we all lose, right?"

A pair of glowing yellow-irised eyes slowly shook back and forth. "No, I said we would be powerless to stop it, I never said that it would be impossible for anyone else to."

"So someone can beat them after all?" the larger form asked, its light blue eyes glinting with a hint of hope.

The smaller figure turned to stare into at the shining pool of water. "It's possible...but that goes both ways." The form gave the water's surface a gentle stroke, casting ripples down to the center, which seemed to glow even brighter as they reached the middle. "Not even I can see the outcome of how this will come to be, but I what I do know is that good or bad, this will be no easy fight to win...or to lose. Still, if they keep their will strong and let their hope take them higher...I think we will stand a chance."


	2. Chapter 1:The Hunted

**Ah...the "joys" of using Doc Manager on a mobile device. Since I'm having such trouble getting italics to work, I will be using the "*" to indicate any thoughts going through a character's mind. Hope you guys don't find this to be too annoying.**

Long, eerie howls ripped through the sunset darkened forest, announcing the savage song of hunters on the trail of their prey. Terrified, hordes of small pokémon desperately fled to hide. Pachirisu previously intent on gathering up berries abandoned their provisions to scamper up any nearby tree. Rattata scurried into the dark recesses of any holes or burrows that they could find. Pidgey and Taillow flapped up and took refuge in the darkening sky. The unlucky ones that were unable to use any of the previous escape methods were forced to run away as fast as they could and hope they wouldn't get caught.

The howls intensified as the predators found the trail of their long pursued prey. "FASTER!" an authoritative voice bellowed, "If you lot lose him I'll have your hide between my teeth!"

"Yes, Alpha!" a chorus of barks answered. With lolling tongues and glowing red eyes, the pack of dark doberman-like pokémon noisily crashed through the undergrowth.

Too far ahead to be seen by its savage followers, a lone figure with resemblance to a saber toothed tiger streaked across the forest ground. The creature's long, mane ran down from the length its neck to its back, rippling in the wind. A tail the shape of lightning bounced with the rhythm of the strong, striped, churning legs. It was a Raikou, but a closer look at the fleeing pokémon would have revealed that this one's appearance was different than the ordinary. Gone was the bright, yellow fur color; instead it was replaced with a dark, ash-gray shade. The tail and whiskers were also a different color, a silvery sheen instead of light blue. But the mane was considerably noticeable; instead of being purple and magnificently curled, it was dark red with the ends frayed like a torn cape.

An annoyed growl rumbled in Raiken's throat. He hated running from such noisy, overconfident brutes. Normally, he would just fry them all with a good blast of electricity and be done with it, but he couldn't afford to stay in one place with this much ruckus going on—he was much too sought out for that.

*You honestly think you scare me? Think again, you mangy mutts!* The story of Houndoom being capable of inflicting a burn that hurts forever was just laughable. Couldn't anyone else see through that ruse?

The Raikou wrinkled his muzzle. *Although their breath's so foul it might be enough to make my nose sting forever.* Still, they were relentless, and it was about time that he shook them off his trail...

Up ahead, the Raikou could see open, tall grassland just past the forest tree line. He surged towards it, swiftly weaving past thick tree trunks. Faster and faster, he pelted on until he burst out from the forest's edge and entered the tall grassed field. Raiken, now that the open space freed him to race even faster, thundered across the grassy turf casting up small puffs of dust. He felt a small twinge of satisfaction as the howls started to grow fainter as the distance between them increased. Then again...it was only a matter of time before the Houndoom reached the field as well.

Suddenly, a hideous space of nothingness loomed in front of the sabertooth. With a shocked hiss, Raiken desperately dug his long white claws into the ground. Leaving gouges in the earth, the dark pelted Raikou slid across the ground and slid to an stop just a few steps ahead of the cliff's drop.

Raiken lay panting on the ground for a few heartbeats, but quickly jumped up to his paws again; he didn't have the leisure of lying there and considering what could have happened. The howls were coming closer.

Cautiously, the Raikou pricked his way to the cliff's edge and peered down. The drop down wasn't extremely far, but a marsh smelling even more foul than the Houndoom oozed beneath it. Ugly, drooping reeds jutted out from the water and an assortment of clumpy plants and peat floated on top of the water. A sickly looking, green-brown layer of scum coated the water's surface, resembling a gross form of skin. The Raikou curled up his lip in disgust at the rank sight.

An idea suddenly formed into his head, and the electric tiger grimaced at what his mind had conjured up. There was no way he would ever want to even go near such a stinking place...but he had to do something to throw the Houndoom off his trail. Their loud noise was bound to attract unwanted attention towards him eventually, and at least the stench would definitely camouflage his scent. *I am NOT looking forward to this...*

With a bitter feeling in his gut, the sabertooth took a deep breath, bunched up his muscles, and leaped down. For a moment he seemed to be falling slowly at a dizzying pace, and the next gravity took over and he was plummeting downward at a much faster speed than he wanted to. The Raikou slammed into the water, the force of the impact painfully slapping against his chest and knocking the breath out of him. Raiken felt light headed and disoriented as he sank down in the dark, warm, fluid. Long, narrow underwater plants snaked around his legs, as if they were trying to drag the electric type down into the murky depths. A sickening taste enveloped in his mouth as the thick, warm, disgusting liquid flooded into his jaws. Raiken stifled a gag at the rancid taste, and then frantically began pumping his legs. Using powerful leg strokes, he tore free from the water weed's grasp and swam upward.

Finally, his head broke the murky surface and water spewed from his mouth. Blinking the grime from his eyes, Raiken glanced around and decided to head for the opposite shore. The bank looked very muddy and generally unappealing, but the dark forest beyond it looked overgrown and enticingly concealed enough. As swiftly and as quietly possible, the electric type paddled towards land.

Eventually, his paws found solid footing beneath the water, albeit feeling sticky and gunky. Suddenly, a muffled hiss and deep, guttural groan sounded from behind the the saber. Swiveling his head, Raiken turned to see a long line of rising bubbles trailing after a large, submerged form heading right towards him.


	3. Chapter 2:Alone

Wind blew across the grassland, bending back the stalks of long grass in a sea of ripples. A Zangoose lay on the ground, his red and white fur ruffling with the grass. His hands were crossed behind his head, and one swinging leg was bent over the other. The Zangoose's pink eyes gazed up at the bright, blue sky, watching fluffy, white clouds roll past. No other signs of life seemed to be around-he was completely alone, which was how it normally was for Zen, nowadays.

It hadn't been that long ago, he still wasn't completely used to the quietness. Sometimes, he still woke up expecting to hear the loud noises of bickering siblings, crashing objects, some unknown chaos, and yelling...lots and lots of yelling. A lot of times, it seemed like that was all his family knew how to do. Memories started creeping into the back of his mind, the Zangoose closed his eyes and let them take him away to a different time.

"NO! NO! NO!" Zen's father growled. "You're not even trying, you bonehead! When I was your age, I swear..." the Zangoose angrily paced back and forth with a paw covering his face. Stopping, he turned to glare at Zen in the eye. "What's with you?

You have so much potential riding on you. You've got the skills...the stealth...and way more talent than Nitwit, over here," he gestured to Rolland, Zen's older brother. "You could pull off a least a heist or two all on your own, but INSTEAD you leave ME to constantly pull your head out of the clouds!"

Zen read the look in his father's eyes, and knew he was demanding an explanation. The younger Zangoose looked down at the ground, scuffling the dirt with his feet. "Maybe it's because I don't want to," he muttered.

"Don't WANT to," Zen's father icily echoed. The Zangoose sneered back at him as if he said something stupid like grass was actually orange or the moon was triangle shaped. "And why would THAT be...son?"

'Why? Because I'm not lazy. I can actually get my OWN stuff without having to steal it from somebody. I'm no weakling that has to constantly depend on someone else for my own survival! Spend the rest of my life skulking in the shadows and hiding like some lowly, thieving rat? Never!' Zen stared back at his angry father, and decided against saying exactly what was on his mind. "It's just that I...I..." Zen's face grew hot, and he struggled to come up with something to say. He had to tread carefully; thievery was something that his father viewed as fine art, and his greatest pride and thrill in life. He wouldn't take kindly to it being insulted, and Zen knew to avoid getting on his father's bad side at all costs. "I don't want people to think that I'm too weak...er, I mean too poor to get what I want."

"You're young," Zen's father snorted, "you still have too much pride in what people think about you, just like every other foolish youth these days. But you'll change how you feel one day, when maturity finally hits you." His father angrily waved a paw towards their house. "Go on, I'm done wasting my time with you today."

'Funny, but I don't think it's me that maturity needs to hit.' Just as Zen was turning to walk off, he caught sight oh his older brother's facial expression. Rolland was grinning smugly and and tauntingly waved him goodbye with a smirk. 'You idiot! He's just going to crack down harder on you, and you're not even smart enough to get half of what he tells you.'

Zen trudged off with a huff. For as far back as he could remember, Rolland had always been been the same—a big, chubby, unintelligent, bully. Zen had seen the heavy set Zangoose using his bigger size to pick on little pokémon on many occasions. Sometimes, however, the smaller pokémon would get it in their heads to fight back. Whether or not Rolland was strong or even smart enough to counter their revolt; Zen could never tell, but Rolland usually ended up running back home with his tail tucked between his legs. However, he wasn't smart enough to stop. Even worse, he still tried to pick on Marci.

Although she was shorter than him, Marci was Zen's older sister. Those who didn't know her often mistook the Zangoose for being the youngest. Zen almost wished she was, for inside that small form was a flaming ball of rage ready to tear loose at any given moment. Zen didn't know what possessed Rolland to mess with her; she knew how to land a mean nose punch that always drew blood...and she was very fast in doing it.

Zen gave a shudder. That wasn't what really bothered him about Marci, it was her obsession with burning things. An odd light always entered the Zangoose's eye as she stared into the flames, like she was held in some kind of trance. Zen had caught her on more than once setting gardens on fire, just so she could watch them burn to the ground.

Zen clumped down the dirt walkway to his house, which really wasn't all that impressive looking—a large mound of hill with a round, wooden door at the base and a couple of windows to the side of it. Once he he made it to the entrance, the Zangoose reached out and swung the door open, carelessly letting it slam shut behind him. He was about to head for his room, but stopped when he caught sight of his mother.

The Zangoose was noisily sifting through a cardboard box containing glittering objects. As he continued to watch her, she pulled out a long, pink crystal. Feeling around the edges, she intently examined the jewel. After carefully fingering her possession, she let out a content sigh. "Perfect," she breathed, "absolutely perfect."

Slowly, her gaze lifted up. Her pink eyes widened at the sight of Zen, briefly flashing with surprise and possibly a hint of guilt. She quickly dropped the jewel back in the box and slapped the flaps shut. The next second, his mother's shocked expression grew cold with her eyes dangerously narrowed. "What are you gawking at?" she glowered.

Zen took a hesitant step back, his fur starting to spike. Something wasn't was wrong with this situation ...and why was the bottom of the box flecked with dark, spotted stains? It didn't contain anything wet... Lowering his eyes to avoid his mother's glare, he quietly responded, "Um, nothing I guess."

Her icy expression remained unchanged. "Make sure it stays that way," she growled. Zen nodded and quickly scuttled off towards his room.

Zen snapped his eyes open to see the turquoise sky once again. Slowly, he rose up into a sitting position. After wrapping his white-furred arms around his bent legs, he laid his head down on his knees and sighed. Back then, he [i]thought[/i] he knew who his family was and what they were capable of. He thought he knew their lifestyle...their deeds...their secrets. Turns out that was only scratching the surface, at least when it came to his parents.

His siblings really had been predictable enough. Once she was older, Marci stopped making petty, little garden fires and instead set houses and public buildings to flame, whether pokémon were in there or not. Somewhere along the way, she had even gained a lot of knowledge of chemicals and started working on and testing homemade explosives.

In the end, it was actually all because of Rolland's final error that caused Zen to discover what really was going on underneath his nose all these years. His older brother decided he actually did like partaking in his father's skill, but what Rolland did was anything BUT skill. The cocky fool did an incredibly messy job of stealing things. Zen knew it was only a short matter of time before Rolland's sloppy work caught up with him, and he predicted it right.

Fully intent on investigation, the authorities barged in and easily found enough evidence to lock his older brother up. They even found Marci's stash of illegal explosives, which was enough for her to get sent away as well. Unfortunately, one of them recognized Zen's father...and that's when everything came crashing down.

Up until that afternoon, Zen had known that his father stole a lot of valuable items. He knew that he was wanted in several areas, and that practically everything his family owned was not honestly paid for. What he did not know was that his father had also stolen artifacts held as sacred. He did not know that his father didn't work alone, or that he was leader of a band of thieves. He did not know that he murdered any victims that caught him in the act. Until the authorities came and unveiled it all...

After all this time, Zen finally found out where his mother had gotten all of her countless gems and crystals, and why her cardboard box was spotted with dark stains on that day so long ago. Deep down, he always knew that they had been stolen...he just hadn't know they were pried off the bodies of living pokémon held as hostages.

The one, tiny silver lining of the entire situation was that the police force hadn't been able to take himself away for anything. Not that they hadn't tried...

Zen lifted his head and gazed up into the sky once more. A group of Taillow swooped across, playfully diving in the air and chirping gleefully. Further back behind, a single Pidgeotto flew alone. It didn't make any fancy dives or playful antics, just strove on towards its destination while ignoring the other flying types. Zen slowly blinked, watching the brown bird's departure. Strangely, a part of him was sad to see it leave. The flying type, like himself, was also alone...Alone.

Zen knew what little family he had before was forever gone. His parents' heinous crimes were enough to earn them execution, so he knew that ruled ever seeing them again out. Although his siblings' punishment was far less extreme; they were still going to be locked up for quite some time, and he doubted they would care to see him again. In all honesty, he wasn't sure if he would be excited to see them all that much either. He never had been particularly close to his family.


End file.
